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Quote by Stephin Merritt

“There are only so many instruments you can layer on top of each other that aren't perfectly electronically programmed. "Long Vermont Roads" just cannot be performed live, because it's just too cluttered if it's played by humans. Synthesizers stay out of each other's way in a way that hand-played instruments never can.”

Quote by Stephin Merritt

Author

Stephin Merritt

Stephin Merritt is a talented singer-songwriter known for his unique musical style and profound lyrics. Since his birth in 1965, he has been recognized for his outstanding contributions to the independent music scene. more

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“There's already a great deal to do writing the songs. And if I were completely in control of it, nobody would be able to say "this song doesn't work."”

Author:Stephin Merritt

“If the songs were in lumps, then you would expect to understand what was going on in the plot. Which is not a realistic goal. And also the instrumentation is different for every show, so it's more varied sonically. And people are free to make up their own plots, of course. There are pretty dense and complicated plots, and they're simple songs.”

People Different Song Goal Simple Complicated Realistic

Author:Stephin Merritt

“I actually prefer to hear small groups of instruments. Orchestras seem to lack a texture for me, or variety of texture. There's only about ten things you can do with one note in a string section. But a lone violin is continuously changing textures.”

Author:Stephin Merritt

“Popular music of the last 50 years has failed to keep in step with advances in musical theater, namely Stephen Sondheim. But the two have grown apart so that popular music is based more than ever on a rhythmic grid that is irrelevant in musical theater. In popular music, words matter less and less. Especially now that it's so international, the fewer words the better. While theater music becomes more and more confined to a few blocks in midtown.”

Music Is Musical Block Irrelevant Popular Music Musical Theater

Author:Stephin Merritt

“My mother was into folk-rock when I was little, so I think of folk-rock as the norm from which everything else deviates. Of course, that's completely preposterous, but that's how I grew up. What is the norm by which to judge wordiness? I think I'm less wordy than Madonna.”

Thinking Mother Judging Norm

Author:Stephin Merritt

“Allah will help him who moves in the way of Allah.”

Way Helping Moving Caliphs

Author:Abu Bakr

“Okay, a truly great song is a song that makes its own aesthetic intentions clear and then lives up to them and exceeds them in an interesting way. Alright?”

Song Interesting Okay Intention Aesthetic Alright

Author:Stephin Merritt

“If you start out with a song sounding like Britney Spears, and you end up with a song sounding like Pauline Oliveros, you'd better have pretty good liner notes explaining what on earth you mean.”

Mean Earth Song

Author:Stephin Merritt

“That seems like one of the differences in expectations of "serious" and "popular" music that you can actually depend on the liner notes to explain yourself? Yeah. Whereas in popular music you depend on photo shoots. A hardcore band who looked like Duran Duran would have to depend upon those liner notes.”

Serious Expectations Hardcore Popular Music

Author:Stephin Merritt

“The most important thing is that, when you work with somebody, you build a rapport with that person. They have a certain trust in you. You don't have to explain that much. It's very hard when you photograph someone who's a fresh face and then you don't work with them again for six months. All these people I work with over and over again have qualities that I love. There's something very free about them or there are some slight imperfections about them. I think the more you work with someone, the pictures get better and better.”

People Thinking Important Quality Photograph Get Better Imperfection Rapport

Author:Craig McDean